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A new paper asserts that a physical body might be able to pass through a wormhole in spite of the extreme tidal forces that are at play.

A physical object, such as a person or a spacecraft, could theoretically make it through a wormhole in the centre of a black hole, and maybe even access another universe on the other side, physicists have suggested.

In what looks like the logical extension of the plot of Interstellar – where astronauts try to hunt down another universe after the catastrophic effects of climate change destroy Earth – physicists have modelled what would happen to a chair, a scientist, and a spacecraft, if each one ended up inside the spherical wormhole of a black hole.

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NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) worked with two private firms to develop advanced structures for high power solar arrays that are stronger, lighter, and package more compactly for launch. This technology investment furthers the agency’s deep space exploration goals and aids the commercial communications satellite industry, the provider of direct-to-home television, satellite radio, broadband internet and a multitude of other services.

The Roll Out Solar Array (ROSA) is one of the options eyed by NASA that could power an advanced solar electric propulsion spacecraft that makes possible such endeavors as the agency’s Asteroid Redirect Mission—plucking a multi-ton boulder from an asteroid’s surface, and then maneuvering that object into a stable orbit around the moon for human inspection and sampling.

Tapping into ROSA technology allows the conversion of sunlight into electrical power that drives the ion thrusters of a solar electric propulsion spacecraft. ROSA is expected to enable a number of space initiatives and is a cost-saving plus to transport cargo over long distances beyond the Earth.

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Tl;dr: Yes, but it’s unlikely.

If black holes attract your attention, white holes might blow your mind.

A white hole is a time-reversed black hole, an anti-collapse. While a black hole contains a region from which nothing can escape, a white hole contains a region to which nothing can fall in. Since the time-reversal of a solution of General Relativity is another solution, we know that white holes exist mathematically. But are they real?

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5 Theories on Motion Sickness with VR’s help.

jason-jeraldWhen people dream about what they want to do in VR, it inevitably involves actually moving around within a virtual environment. But VR locomotion triggers simulator sickness in a lot of people, and solving it is one of the biggest open problems in virtual reality. NextGen Interactions’ Jason Jerald wrote a comprehensive summary of much of the pertinent academic research about VR in The VR Book, and in Chapter 12 he summarizes the five major theories of what may cause simulator sickness.

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MOFFETT FIELD, CA. Made In Space, Inc. (Made In Space) and Thorlabs, Inc. (Thorlabs) will send a microgravity-optimized, miniature fiber drawing system to the International Space Station (ISS) to manufacture high-value-to-mass ZBLAN optical fiber via a cooperative agreement with The Center for Advancement of Science In Space (CASIS). The payload, called the “Made In Space Optical Fiber Production in Microgravity Experiment” (Fiber Payload) is currently scheduled to be launched to the ISS in the first quarter of 2017. The Fiber Payload will produce test quantities of ZBLAN optical fiber in the persistent microgravity environment ISS provides, and be returned to the Earth shortly thereafter. Once returned to the Earth, the fiber will be tested and utilized. Based on the results from this initial experiment and market demand, Made In Space plans to develop and operate larger scale microgravity production facilities for ZBLAN and other microgravity enabled materials.

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